Manila Brace Yourself

This is the latest update of the coming typhoon "Santi". There are a lot of weather websites that show that Santi will definitely pass by Central Luzon and will directly hit Metro Manila.

I pray and hope we can survive this .. i know we all can if we put our hands together and keep our faith that we can get over this.

Let us all pray together and brace ourselves for the coming typhoon.

Yummy!

Yummy!

What else can i say?

Just looking at them makes me feel full and hungry at the same time .. guess what my Mama cooked all of these delectable dishes in such a short time! I wonder when i can do that .. hahaha!

My mama really has a knack in cooking, and take note she has never used a recipe book and just prepare the dishes from the heart. That is why everytime we have our weekend meet up with the family i always end up with a standing promise to work out after partaking the yummy meal. I have yet to start working out ... hahaha! Am actually considering taking on the Kettlebell this holiday season to really keep me in shape and work out the flabby parts .. tee-hee! I really have to trim and get me a flat abdomen before i float in the water ... hahaha!

Good food is so hard to resist!

Mini Standees

Yhis is one of my bestsellers in my party designs ... mini standees! They are very popular for birthdays as they can be really anything, this particular one has the party theme characters (Care Bears) with the two celebrants. They will be putting these standees in the middle of their guests' tables and some near the cake table.

I was in such a hurry to take these shots of the standees because i was pressed for time to deliver them on the very same day i finished them, wish i had enough time to get a better photograph of them, i am sure the standees would stand out more if i placed them on a plain white tile instead of flowery mantle that i had to make do. Will remember this next time .... need to get better pictures of them ... hahahah!

Eating Fun

One of the great bonding moments our family enjoy is eating out and trying different cuisines. I really take time to scout for an interesting restaurant so the kids can try their food and at the same time learn a little something about it. One of the favorite cuisine they like is Chinese food, wanton noodles in particular. Vin can finish one whole order all by himself, including the wanton balls which he dips in lemon and soysauce.

As i was searching the internet for our next eating adventure i came across a couple of interesting restaurants to try like an Indian restaurant that just opened last month, a Syracuse italian restaurant and a All-American Diner type with milkshakes and large servings of burgers, yum!

Typhoon Santi

A new storm is brewing ... and as i write this it has entered the Philippine area of responsibility and if it does not change its course it will hit land by Saturday. They are saying this will also be a super typhoon ... i pray that it does not do as much damage as Ondoy and Pepeng has.

Let us all pray for a safe weekend.

Done

Yey! Done with our second quarter final exams today!

Vacation mode!

We have four days of free days .. whew!

Christian still has work till tomorrow but will be free for three days too! I have already asked for his guarantee that he will help me do some serious cleaning and sorting of our things during the break, and he said, "yes" ... i hope he really keeps his word.. hahaha!

Now that vacation has officially started i am now diving into my design work and make sure i finish everything before the week ends as our family has plans to go to the cemetery and visit Christian's mom on Saturday. I also am finishing up reviewing auto insurance quotes that i promised Christian i will study by Friday to get the best deal. I also have to allot some time to feed my pet in Pet Society in Facebook .... hahaha!

So much work first before i really get to feel the vacation mode .. but knowing that exams are over is a great way to get the feeling ... lol!

2nd Quarter

Our school year is halfway done .. time really is fast!

Next week will be our final examinations for the 2nd quarter and that means i will be again be neck deep with reviewers for the kids. I like exam days ... why? First it is the time when exams are approaching they do not bring home assignments .. yey! Second, i love reviewing them and see their eyes light up when i ask them and they know the answers. Third, i love the shortened periods ... each exam day ends after only a few hours .... triple yey!

I love exams!

Halloween Soon

My kids are really big on halloween celebrations, they love dressing up and trick or treating! They have been telling me what costumes they like and they all want to dress up as ninjas since they are very into Naruto characters.

We sometimes would do some trick or treating around malls, while the kids are going around collecting sweets i am walking around too looking around and studying on what weight loss supplement is best for me, especially that my metabolism is slowing down .. comes with my age .. hahaha!

But regardless of the threat of more pounds especially that Christmas season is fast approaching, i will never give up on fun activities with my kids! Halloween and Christmas pounds are coming really soon .. bring it on!

Outbreak

Just heard the latest update on the news tonight and i feel sad.

Aside from the new storm who as i speak is inside the Philippine area of responsibility what really bothered me is the outbreak of leptospirosis.

There are areas in the country where an outbreak has already been declared and has claimed innocent lives with it. Thinking of our Filipino brothers going through the loss of their belongings, displacement and other things beyond their control .. then this.

It is so sad really.

The other week i was going through some life insurance lead that my friends have been telling me ... i will really carefully give it serious consideration for my family.

I really hope and pray things will turn for the better .... really soon.

Coping

I go to school everyday to bring the kids to schoool and stay there for four hours till Vin is ready to go home. I have seen how the school children have been getting sick with the erratic weather .... sunny then in a few minutes rain .. then sunny. The immune system of the little ones are being tested and seeing then go under the weather really makes me uncomfortable. There are days when i see one pre-school in such a good mood, then the next day see her eyes watery and before the day ends is already running a fever or developing a cold.

As i write this both Vin and Sam have cough and have been giving them round the clock medications and vitamins. I hope our weather stabilizes really soon as the kids are taking the beating.

Be safe everyone and don't forget your daily dose of vitamin C.

Very Near

Time really flies ... i can't believe October will almost be over and in just a few months its December. I actually did not feel September pass by, exceot of course for Sam's birthday (September 22) it was all so hazy.

Christmas will definitely just get here befpre i even feel the Christnas spirit. Iremember last year at around this time i was already starting my Christmas shopping till December 20 ... but now i have no plans yet to do that anytime soon.

Top of my head though i am thinking of giving useful items like tumblers with their pictures on it (or their kids photos that i can easily download from facebook), Personalized usb drive which we all need to carry around living in a high tech world, shirts with names or anything that is simple but functional.

No matter how hard the times are we always find a way to celebrate Christmas as festive as we can especially when we are surrounded with the people we love.

Good Neighbor

Grabbed these photo from a friend in facebook.

These are personal pictures of her (taken from the balcony of her house) of her neighbor Gerald Anderson (popular movie actor) braving the neck high muddy water helping out around their neighborhood. I understand the other boy with him is his brother. Looks like they were brought up well by their parents to help others ...we need more of him!

Coping

I was talking to my girlfriend on facebook chat last night and she was telling me how their family is coping witht the wrath of typhoon Ondoy. I told her that i have been going through my children's clothes and mine to prepare it and share it. I also have am including toys (though no one has announced the need for toys) because i feel the children in the refugees centers should have something to play with especially a lot of them have not been able to bring a single toy with them. I know what it would be like if the children are happy playing with the other kids, it might put back the smile on their yung faces again.

She said she is likewise coping with it by listening to her ipod to her favorite songs while cleaning the house from the muddy dirt, her father on the other hand takes comfort smoking his Rocky Patel cigars while salvaging what they can among their flooded furniture. I smile at the thought that we really try to get on with our life ... take control of the situation and help each other in any way we can. I know in no time we will all be looking back at this feeling proud of the brotherhood we all have for each other.

Help

These images tug at my heart. What we have to go through to get food .. even just a simple boiled banana can spell havoc .. let us all help our fellow Filipinos. We must hold each others hands and i know in no time we will all stand up together and survive this.

No One Is Spared

I was watching the a daily talk show the other day where "Chokoleit" ( a comedian who suffered flooding in his house) was being interviewed. He was saying that he gets really peeved when people tell him after seeing his flooded house images on tv that he has a nice house and all ... he said that the flood was not thinking of whose house was nice and whose house was okay to flood ... everyone is not spared by the treacherous muddy waters. He said having a nice house is not a privilege to be spared from flooding, i was thinking of the expensive furniture of some houses, Kohler faucets, rare vases ... nothing is safe. It is very insensitive for some people to give comments like that that if your house is just so-so it was just fine to get flooded ... sad.

I hear looting and burglary is happening in flood-stricken abandoned houses as i write this. Where is the world coming to?

The Storm That Hit

Ondoy hit us ... hard.

We have been through a lot ... but this is different.

So different that it took us all by surprise and even lost not only our property but even loved ones.

This is something that i will never forget ... i call my children when we see something on the news .. i want them to be aware of what is happening around us. I want them to see how the Filipinos no matter what is given to them can still stand up and take control ... though slowly but i know we can survive this all.

Health Is Wealth

We have heard that line so many times right?

But believe me it does hold water. What will your material be good for if you are ill?

I have seen a lot of instances when the monetary assets are drained with ailment that arise ... and have seen how comfortable your life can be when you are healthy.

I do not take my health in stride ... i take multivitamins everyday .. try to eat healthy food (though i do sneak in a soda from time to time ) .. do not smoke (but i did when i was younger .. hahaha!) and do not drink any alcholic beverage.

I try to keep my body in shape by exercising (okay, stretching .. heheh) a bit, but doing household chores, going up and down flights of stairs to do my laundry is considered a workout.

I am extensively reading on colon cleanser reviews as well to acquaint me with it and make he right decision on as what to take. I also read on a lot of updates on Ah1n1 to keep me abreast with the virys especially that i have three schoolkids who go out everyday to go to school. We can never be too careful ... because like i said earlier, "Health is truly our wealth."